Landmine MTB Classic 2012 @ Wompatuck

The 12th consecutive running of the Landmine MTB Classic in Wompatuck State Park will be held on Sunday 09/09/12. As many of you know this is the season finale for the Root 66 series, the longest single lap course in the Root 66 series (possibly all of New England), only event in the series that offers a Marathon category, and in the top 2 or 3 races in New England in terms of field size only beaten by VT50.

100% of the proceeds from Landmine go directly back to the Friends of Wompatuck (FOW) to support maintenance efforts, trail improvements, outreach, and educational programs in Wompatuck. These programs go far beyond MTB specific activities, FOW caters to all forms of recreation. We are very proud of our efforts to continue to offer a great event at a reasonable entry fee that supports activities in a park we're passionate about.

This year we've modified the course very slightly to add a little more singletrack. Link dump below for registration info, map, GPS tracks, etc. As a reminder, pre-registration not only helps our organizers out greatly, it saves you $$. No day of penalty and FOW is paying BikeReg fees for the second year in a row. The price you see is exactly what you pay!

what is the first timers course like? fire roads or single track. I saw the ave speed for the course settter was 10+mph. That speed seems to me to be more fire roads.

+80% singletrack, the first timers course overlaps with the other category courses as well so this is a real MTB course, not a dumbed down version, so all racers get a fun, challenging experience. Wompatuck is a fairly fast riding park I'd say, also consider that the track log was captured by a rider who races Cat. 1/Expert competitively so their speeds might be a little higher than what first timers might log on the same course.

All course start and finish in South Field. The 11mi & 25mi courses utilize the first timers course as well to gain distance, the legend in the bottom left of the linked map shows the color coding for each course.

Are the courses well marked on race day so people don't get lost? I know Wompy fairly well, but there are plenty of little splits in trails etc that aren't always on the map. I just want to make sure it is clear where to go on raceday!

fusionx2.com/eatskisleep
500 Club

Originally Posted by red5

the thingamajig that's attached to the doohickey is causing some issues with the whatchamacallit. But whatever it is your going to have take'er apart a give'er a looksee.

Originally Posted by Raptordude

Ugh...judging drops on MTBR is like guys judging their own penis size.

Are the courses well marked on race day so people don't get lost? I know Wompy fairly well, but there are plenty of little splits in trails etc that aren't always on the map. I just want to make sure it is clear where to go on raceday!

Yes the Landmine course is very well marked, we spent a lot of time and effort to try and make sure all racers stay on course. Ultimately racers are responsible for navigating their course but steps we take to make this as easy as possible include:

700-800 arrows used

8000-10000 ft of race tape

spray chalk on all pavement crossings

2'x4' signage at major intersections

color coded signage for each course length to match published map

wrong way red "W" signage to denote incorrect directions

At minimum racers should expect 3 arrows per turn: 1 slanted arrow before the turn, 1 horizontal arrow at the turn, 1 confirmation arrow after the turn to assure racers the correct turn has been made.

I recognize that this is a total noob question but I have never raced before. As someone who has never entered a race would it be appropriate to register for the beginner category? I would prefer to ride the 11 mile loop. Or as a completely inexperienced racer should I be in the 6 mile new comers loop? I have never races but I feel my skills and knowledge of Wampatuck are adequate.

I recognize that this is a total noob question but I have never raced before. As someone who has never entered a race would it be appropriate to register for the beginner category? I would prefer to ride the 11 mile loop. Or as a completely inexperienced racer should I be in the 6 mile new comers loop? I have never races but I feel my skills and knowledge of Wampatuck are adequate.

Thanks to anyone that can provide some clarification for me.

I would recommend you register for whatever distance you feel comfortable with and/or will be a challenge for you. Under USAC rules you have the option to race any of the 3 distances at Landmine since you are allowed to self promote all the way to Cat. 2 (sport) if you'd like. If you are comfortable with an 11mi ride, I would say go for it.

looking at the Marathon SS option as my first 50miler and 2nd race ever (if you count SinglespeedUSA as a race)

Any thoughts from others who have accomplished this? How grueling is this course?
Seems like a challenging course to determine gearing too (not that I'm asking) as it's fast, long, with some techi sections.

When are you thinking of checking out the course? I live nearby and know it well. I'd like to get a few laps in before race day. Happy to show you around.

That would be pretty sweet. Not sure what my schedule is like next week but was thinking of heading down whatever weekday I have off... Any chance you have weekdays free or is it nights and weekends only?

That would be pretty sweet. Not sure what my schedule is like next week but was thinking of heading down whatever weekday I have off... Any chance you have weekdays free or is it nights and weekends only?

I might be able to go later next week by day. 4 PM would work on Thursday or Friday if I can't go earlier. Will do the course on Saturday and or Sunday next weekend. Camping with the family this weekend.

Looks like our schedules won't match up. I'm going on Wednesday, since that's my day off. I'll take the old paper maps unless I can find some GPS info to load onto my phone. The Landmine Classic website says they have "GPS Tracks" to download, but it only seems like you can use those tracks with a proprietary Garmin device/account...
Thanks for the offer though.

Looks like our schedules won't match up. I'm going on Wednesday, since that's my day off. I'll take the old paper maps unless I can find some GPS info to load onto my phone. The Landmine Classic website says they have "GPS Tracks" to download, but it only seems like you can use those tracks with a proprietary Garmin device/account...
Thanks for the offer though.

car_nut's post above explains how you can DL the gpx files from the Garmin site, all that is required is a registration to the site. We also replied to your FB post with email contact on obtaining a gpx file via email, check there as well.

car_nut's post above explains how you can DL the gpx files from the Garmin site, all that is required is a registration to the site. We also replied to your FB post with email contact on obtaining a gpx file via email, check there as well.

I got the email! Much appreciated!

I have the courses loaded up on MotionX and I'll be riding them Wednesday if anyone would like to join me. I'll be getting to Wompatuck sometime between 9 am and 10 am depending on traffic from the Boston area.

I am going to be doing the marathon option and had never been to Wompatuck before so I went last week for a pre-ride. It was very helpful to check out the terrain - it should be a great event. I figured I would share my experience since it might help others.

Went equipped with my bike computer/GPS (Garmin Edge 500), my Droid with a tracking program, and a hardcopy map of the route. I definitely used all three to navigate. First off - thanks for the route download provided - it was very helpful. However, I had to stop a lot to orient and I went the wrong way several times before getting back on track. One problem was they were doing composting work with heavy equipment and closed a section of the trail loop while this was going on but this was only temporary I imagine.

Never having followed a GPS route before and having the Edge 500 as a new bike computer was not a great combination. There are a ton of turns and intersections in Wompatuck which makes it confusing but fortunately many of them are marked. One thing I did not pick up on which would have helped is that when you face the trail markers you are facing North, this will help with orienting on the paper map.

GPS reception for me faded in and out a lot, presumably because of the tree canopy that you are usually under. Also on the Edge the route is just one line with no other trails or topo shown so there is no real perspective when you come to intersections. If possible a GPS unit with the full trail layer and topo or aerials would be best.

I used the paper map a lot and with sweat and repeatedly stuffing into my jersey pocket it was pretty much toast by the end of the lap. The Droid with the track overlaid on the aerial view was handy to confirm my basic location when needed. But having it in my pack made it hard to access for quick reference. Have fun in there everyone, it looks to be an excellent time and I am looking forward to it.

Just a few other quick thoughts - it definitely would help considerably to go with someone who knows the trails if you just want to dial in the course. For me I had the day off and had a fairly leisurely exploration and that is a fun way to go if you have the time. I wanted to start and finish at the official South Field location so I parked in a pull-out across the road from S-20 and rode in on the paved, but closed to traffic, roads.

Topped off the ride with some fresh cool water from the Mt. Blue Spring. Don't know if it has any special medicinal properties but it seemed appropriate to do.

Also on the Edge the route is just one line with no other trails or topo shown so there is no real perspective when you come to intersections. If possible a GPS unit with the full trail layer and topo or aerials would be best.

You can download map databases from Open Street Map. It has all the trails in Wompy. Read the readme file to figure out which map db to download. You'll need a micro SD card bigger than 2GB to hold the maps. Copy it to a folder called /Garmin on the SD card, reboot the Garmin and select the new map and you're good to go.

Just a few other quick thoughts - it definitely would help considerably to go with someone who knows the trails if you just want to dial in the course. For me I had the day off and had a fairly leisurely exploration and that is a fun way to go if you have the time. I wanted to start and finish at the official South Field location so I parked in a pull-out across the road from S-20 and rode in on the paved, but closed to traffic, roads.

Topped off the ride with some fresh cool water from the Mt. Blue Spring. Don't know if it has any special medicinal properties but it seemed appropriate to do.